Vice Admiral Ioannis Pavlopoulos

Vice Admiral Ioannis Pavlopoulos was born in Thessaloniki the 13th of April 1961. He is a 1983 graduate of the Hellenic Naval Academy and a 2000 graduate of the Naval War College, earning a Master of Arts degree in Strategic Studies and Naval Science.

His operational tours, focusing on Navy Special Forces, amphibious operations, and communications, included serving on destroyers, guided missile patrol boats, and amphibious ships.  From 1989 to 1994 he served in the Navy's Special Forces Command as an Operational Team Leader, Security Team Leader, and Boarding Officer.  He led security teams for high-profile state visits and senior military leaders, and he was also posted in northern Iraq under the United Nations flag as a UN Guard Team Leader.  He deployed in support of numerous special operations abroad, including Operation DESERT SHIELD in 1990 in the Red Sea on the frigate HS LIMNOS (Cortenear class) and Operation SHARP GUARD in 1992 and 1994 aboard the destroyers HS TOMPAZIS and HS KIMON in the Adriatic Sea, supporting the UN sanctions imposed on the Former Yugoslavia.

Vice Admiral Pavlopoulos commanded two LST’s – the HS RODOS from 1995 to 1997 and the HS SAMOS from 2005 to 2006. From 2006 to 2008 he served as Commandant of the Hellenic Navy Special Forces (Underwater Demolition Command).

His staff tours include serving as Director of Command and Major of the Naval Cadet battalion at the Hellenic Naval Academy from 1997 to 1999 as well as Deputy Director at the Naval Staff Officers School from 2009 till 2010.  He also served as Head of the Amphibious Operations Directorate at the Amphibious Fleet Command from 1999 to 2000 and as Head of the Operations Planning Department at the Hellenic Navy General Staff from 2000 to 2002.

Vice Admiral Pavlopoulos served as Naval Attaché at the Embassy of Greece in Paris from 2002 to 2005.  From 2010 till 2012 he was appointed as Director of the Athens Multinational Sealift Coordination Centre, managing strategic sealift issues for the benefit of the center’s memberstates and International Organizations (NATO, EU, and UN) and working closely with the Hellenic Shipping Community and the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping.

Promoted to the rank of Commodore, he led the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (NMIOTC) in Souda Bay, Crete from 2012 to 2015.  As the longest-serving commandant of this prominent training facility, he directed specialized training for NATO ships and units as well as for partner military and law enforcement forces from across the globe.

In 2015 at the rank of Rear Admiral, he assumed the duties as Head of the Strategy and Policy Branch of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (HNDGS).  In this capacity he also served as the Director of Transformation for the Hellenic Armed Forces and as the National Capabilities Director within the NATO and EU frameworks.

Promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral in January 2017, he was appointed by the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense as Commander in Chief of the Hellenic Fleet (CINCHELFLEET).

In September 2019 he was appointed as the National Military Representative of Greece to the NATO and EU Military Committees. 

His awards include the Gold Cross of the order of Phoenix, the Peace Operations Medal, the Medal of Military Merit, the Navy Force Formation Command Medal and the Gold Cross of the order of Honour. The States of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait decorated him for his participation in the operations for the liberation of Kuwait.  He was also awarded the Peace Operations Medal of the United Nations.

Vice Admiral Pavlopoulos was decorated by the French Republic as “Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Merite” for his contribution as Naval Attaché of Greece to the strengthening of the ties between the two countries. 

Vice Admiral Pavlopoulos is fluent in English and French. He is married to Evdokia Sakellaridou and is father of two children.